Egyptian Government Taking Drastic Steps to Interrupt Communications

The Egyptian government is taking dramatic measures to silence the news of the continued uprising happening in that country.

It has been widely reported that journalists including CBS News‘ chief foreign affairs correspondent Lara Logan, correspondent Brian Hartman and other members of the ABC News crew, CNN’s Anderson Cooper, and journalists from international outlets have been detained, threatened, and attacked. White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs called it “unacceptable” and demanded the immediate release of any journalists arrested.

However, it’s not just reporters that have been feeling pressure from the authorities.

Wired is reporting that Facebook activists, including Ahmed Siefof the group April 6 Youth (@shabab6april) have been arrested. The group’s mission is to support protests, and the network has used social media to speak out against President Hosni Mubarak.

Mobile carriers were also forced to send text messages to their customers despite the fact that service has been interrupted. The story is a little unclear, but the Wall Street Journal publishes a couple of those messages, which apparently didn’t specify their origin.